Which one among the following statements about the Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) in India is not correct?

Correct — B, the statement that the aim of DEH is to boost exports of only selected districts of the country. That single word 'only' is what makes the statement false, and the programme's own documents contradict it in as many places as you care to look. Paragraph 3.02 of the Handbook of Procedures 2023 states the objective as converting each District of the country into an export hub. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade's note on the initiative describes it as launched in August 2019 to foster balanced regional development across all districts of the country. A reply given in the Lok Sabha in March 2026 records that products and services with export potential have been identified in all districts across the country, including geographical-indication products and agricultural and toy clusters. The machinery matches the ambition: a State Export Promotion Committee exists in all thirty-six States and Union Territories, and a District Export Promotion Committee exists at district level, chaired by the Collector or District Magistrate with the designated regional authority of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade as co-chair. By July 2024 products had been identified in 734 districts, committee meetings had been held in 701, and draft District Export Action Plans had been prepared for 590 districts, of which 249 stood formally notified.

• (a)DEH was launched in August 2019. — True, so it cannot be the answer. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade's own note dates the launch to August 2019, following the call to treat every district as holding economic potential comparable to that of a small country.
• (c)India's Foreign Trade Policy 2023 reiterated the role of DEH. — True, and more than reiterated — the policy gave the initiative a formal home. Districts as Export Hubs occupies Chapter 3 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 and Chapter 3 of the accompanying Handbook of Procedures.
• (d)DEH aims to promote exports by providing financial inclusion and facilitating logistical and infrastructural support. — Loosely worded but true in substance. The Lead Bank Manager sits on every District Export Promotion Committee, and a District Export Action Plan is required to map existing trade infrastructure and to identify the infrastructure, utilities and logistics interventions a district needs.

Districts as Export Hubs is the Directorate General of Foreign Trade's attempt to decentralise export promotion, which until then was run almost entirely from the Centre. The idea is that each district identifies the goods and services it can sell abroad — often a geographical-indication product, an agricultural cluster or a craft cluster — and then works through a standing committee to remove what stops it. A State Export Promotion Committee sits at State level and a District Export Promotion Committee at district level, the latter chaired by the Collector, co-chaired by the regional authority of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, and convened by the General Manager of the District Industries Centre. The committee's main product is a District Export Action Plan with quantifiable targets and timelines.

This is a 'which one is not correct' item, so three of the four statements have to be recognised as true before the false one can be picked, and the fastest route is to look for the word that overreaches. Three statements here are neutral in tone; only one contains a limiting word, and 'only selected districts' is exactly the sort of restriction a national programme would not accept. A second useful check is the name itself — a scheme called Districts as Export Hubs, run through a committee in every district, cannot logically be aimed at a chosen few. As of the November 2025 exam the initiative was in the phase of preparing and notifying District Export Action Plans; the notified count has since risen, and the programme has extended into memorandums with e-commerce platforms so that district producers can sell abroad online.

• Districts as Export Hubs was launched in August 2019 by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Department of Commerce.
• Its policy sits in Chapter 3 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, with the operational detail in Chapter 3 of the Handbook of Procedures 2023.
• Paragraph 3.02 of the Handbook of Procedures states the objective as converting each District of the country into an export hub.
• State Export Promotion Committees exist in all 36 States and Union Territories; District Export Promotion Committees are chaired by the Collector or District Magistrate.
• By July 2024, products with export potential had been identified in 734 districts, and draft District Export Action Plans existed for 590 districts, of which 249 were formally notified.

• Reading a 'which is not correct' stem as 'which is correct'. Three of the four options here are accurate statements about the programme.
• Assuming a scheme with the word 'hub' in it must be limited to a few chosen places. The design covers every district, and committees exist in all of them.
• Confusing the launch year, 2019, with the year the initiative was written into policy, 2023.

As a statement-elimination item on a named trade or export scheme, or as a single-fact item on which ministry, policy chapter or committee runs it.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The District Export Promotion Committee constituted under the Districts as Export Hubs initiative is normally chaired by which one of the following?

  • (a)The Collector or District Magistrate of the district
  • (b)The Lead Bank Manager of the district
  • (c)The Director General of Foreign Trade
  • (d)The Chief Secretary of the State

  Answer(a) The Collector or District Magistrate of the district — with the designated regional authority of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade as co-chair and the General Manager of the District Industries Centre as convener.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Districts as Export Hubs finds a formal place in which one of the following documents?

  • (a)The Union Budget of 2019-20
  • (b)Chapter 3 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023
  • (c)The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005
  • (d)The National Manufacturing Policy

  Answer(b) Chapter 3 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 — with the matching operational chapter in the Handbook of Procedures 2023.